Content

11.1

The Executive Director City Futures submitted
a report in respect of the establishment of a new Partner City
Policy.
 
Sheffield City Council does not currently have
any formal Policy in place in respect of responding to approaches
to establish new international relationships through such
mechanisms as Twinning (sometimes referred to as Sister City
agreements), through to entering into such things as Friendship or
Collaborative agreements.
 
The Council regularly receives approaches to
forge new relationships, whether this is to enter into specific
agreements or simply to host a visiting delegation.
 
There is a need for clear objectives and
decision-making criteria for entering into any Twinning / Sister
City agreements or developing new less formal international links;
identifying outputs and outcomes and the potential to link with key
partners to help achieve wider benefits for the city and its
residents.
 
With limited time and resources, deciding on
what opportunities to pursue, requires transparent and consistent
decision-making criteria. Such criteria should provide quantifiable
value to the City and its residents, and
be kept under review.  Whilst we may
choose to maintain existing relationships, new opportunities for
city partnership working will inevitably arise. Given
Sheffield’s broad range of existing international links, with
a variety of terminology in place, the purpose of this report is to
propose the creation of a clear Partner City Policy, so called to
ensure consideration of each of these different types of
arrangements, and to provide a framework.

 

 

11.2

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY: That
Strategy and Resources Policy Committee:-

 

 
(a) approves the proposals for a Partner City
Policy, as set out within Appendix 1 of the report now submitted;
and
 
(b) authorises the General Counsel and
Monitoring Officer in consultation with the Executive Director City
Futures to finalise the policy based upon the proposals (as
currently set out within Appendix 1) and any observations made by
the Committee.

 

 

11.3

Reasons for
Decision

 

 

11.3.1

Implementation of a Partner City Policy, once
approved, would seek to address a current gap within the
Council’s procedures, ensuring that there is a degree of
rigour in our assessment of new approaches and that decisions are
taken that are fully informed.

 

 

11.3.2

Intended outcomes are such that where
Sheffield chooses to enter into new
international partnerships, the new relationship will have been
thoroughly considered in respect of such aspects as: existing
synergies; the potential benefits to each party; resource
requirements; reputational aspects and potential alignment to key
stakeholder activities and strategies.

 

 

11.4

Alternatives
Considered and Rejected

 

 

11.4.1

The alternative option is to retain the status
quo and not have any form of stated policy. For the reasons
outlined elsewhere in this report, this is not considered be an
appropriate position to continue with, either for the Council, nor
for any potential cities that may wish to consider entering into a formal relationship with the
City.